Illustration by Tim Czerniakowski
American Family Field illustration
When fans come out to American Family Field to watch the Brewers this summer there’s a good chance they’ll see an opponent they haven’t seen in a long time, if ever.
Major League Baseball overhauled its scheduling format for the 2023 season, reducing each team’s number of games against divisional opponents and adding interleague games against every team, every season. Fans who attend games regularly won’t take long to notice the change: In 2022, 18 opposing teams visited American Family Field and the Cardinals, Cubs, Reds or Pirates were the opponent in almost half of Brewers home games. In 2023, 22 different teams will come to Milwaukee for at least one series and games against divisional opponents only make up a third of the home schedule.
Meanwhile, increasing interleague play will lead to more matchups that fans haven’t seen in a while. Here are some of the teams making trips to Milwaukee in 2022 for the first time in a long time:
April 21-23: Boston Red Sox
Boston was one of the Brewers’ most frequent opponents when Milwaukee was still an American League city, but the Brewers and Red Sox have not crossed paths often since. This will be just the third time Boston is visiting American Family Field and only the second series since 2003. For the Brewers it’s a good time for this rivalry to resume: Since their last trip to Milwaukee the Red Sox have had a 108-win, World Series team in 2018 and a 92-win 2021 season, but they’ve taken a step back recently and are projected to be under .500 in 2023.
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April 28-30: Los Angeles Angels
The Brewers and Angels met in one of the most famous baseball games in Milwaukee’s history, the fifth and final game of the 1982 ALCS where Cecil Cooper’s two-run single in the seventh inning sent the Brewers to their first and to-date only World Series. There haven’t been many opportunities to relive those memories in recent years, however, as the Angels have come to Milwaukee just three times since American Family Field opened in 2001 and haven’t been there at all since 2016. This will be Brewers fans’ first-ever look at Shohei Ohtani and their first opportunity to see three-time AL MVP Mike Trout in seven years.
June 6-8: Baltimore Orioles
If the final game of the 1982 ALCS isn’t the most famous win of the Brewers’ American League tenure, then their victory over the Orioles on the final day of that regular season might be. The Brewers got to future Hall of Famer Jim Palmer that day and picked up a 10-2 win to clinch an American League East championship and just the second postseason berth in franchise history. Since the Brewers’ move to the National League this rivalry has gone dormant, however. This is only Baltimore’s fourth visit to American Family Field and their first since 2017. Unfortunately for the Brewers, they missed out on Baltimore’s bottoming out and are going to start seeing them more frequently as this organization climbs back into competitiveness.
June 9-11: Oakland Athletics
The first homestand in June will see the Brewers face a pair of old rivals as the Orioles leave the visitors’ clubhouse to make room for Oakland’s first visit to Milwaukee since 2016. The A’s were one of Milwaukee’s most frequent rivals during the franchise’s early years in the 1970’s and Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson’s 62 home runs against Milwaukee were both his most against any opponent and the most the Brewers have ever allowed to a single opposing batter. It’s unlikely the next Reggie Jackson is on the 2023 A’s, however, as they slashed payroll once again this winter and might be the worst team in baseball.
Going forward, fans can expect to see every American League team visit Milwaukee at least once every other year. The teams that will come to Milwaukee in 2023 for the first time in a long time include the Guardians (first time since 2018), Mariners and Rangers (first time since 2019). It’s a welcome change, and will bring some variety to the ballpark.
